Workamping Job Review – Vacation Rental Housekeeping

Technically, a workamping job is one you do while living in your RV. I think some purists might say that workamping requires you live in your RV for the job. Lines have been blurred, however, by work-from-home jobs being done while living in your RV.

My husband and I have worked in campgrounds for pay as Campground Managers/Hosts and as Area Managers. We also volunteered in a campground; which we loved. Working for pay helped to supplement our travel expenses.

Currently I have a work-at-home job that I do via the internet and phone; which can be done while travelling or standing still. I work on American Land & Leisure’s Facebook and website: www.americanll.com. Another internet/phone job I’ve had was selling advertising for BeachConnection.net on the Oregon Coast.

Recently I decided to try housekeeping for a vacation rental company on the Oregon Coast. This is not a job that requires you to live in an RV but, if you do live in an RV, is it called workamping? Anyway, I survived it (sort of) and I’d like to provide a review here; not of the company but of the work. If you want to know who I worked for, email me. I will not mention their name here. Different companies may have differing policies that impact # of hours worked and how physically taxing the job is. I am in my mid-fifties and consider myself fairly physically fit.

One of the properties owned by this company is a small motel. I only had the opportunity to clean 2 units in the motel so I do not feel I can give a good review of motel housekeeping but I have a feeling it is different than housekeeping in a home.

Housekeeping: Physical Demands – I often had a 2 – 4 bedroom (3 – 6 beds), 2 – 3 bath home to clean in a 5 hour time period. In the peak times, I had 2 or 3 homes to clean and sometimes I had more time to clean them. The level of cleaning required can be compared to cleaning your own home before you move in or out. It is very different from your weekly or daily cleaning chores because of the time constraint and sanitation required. Requirements included vacuum, mop, sanitize tubs, showers, toilets, sinks, sanitize/clean all kitchen appliances, wash all windows inside and out, dust high and low, strip all bedding, wash and replace bedding and bath towels, restock TP, paper towels, etc. Added challenges were familiarization with washer/dryers and floor cleaning equipment that was different in each home. Just getting all the laundry done in that time period for a 6 – 10 person rental was tight.

Campground Management: The physical campground work was easier, to me, even though it included shoveling out fire rings (including rocks), cleaning vault and flush toilets and painting tables, signs and buildings. Campground work was easier to me because, for example, each fire ring did not need shoveling everyday. Restrooms are the most demanding in a campground because of the sanitation requirements. Painting tables, signs and buildings can usually be done on a less restrictive deadline so it is not as physically demanding.

Housekeeping: Customer Service – My job did not require much interaction with the customer. If the customer was not out by checkout time I did have to cordially try to move them along. Every minute counts and sometimes I had to call the boss for stronger encouragements with additional charges. But I left that to them while I was away from the property. I actually had a problem with the absence of people to talk to while working. I don’t think of myself as needing a lot of social interaction but the lack of it here, at times, made it excruciatingly boring.

Campground Management: There is a LOT of interaction with the customer in campground management. Depending on your attitude it will be mostly fun or mostly frustrating. If you are a people-person, campground management is fun most of the time.

Conclusion: Housekeeping is not for me!

There is an incredible variety of work available for workampers. As they say, variety is the spice of life! So stretch yourself. Here are a few resources for finding your next workamping adventure:

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2 thoughts on “Workamping Job Review – Vacation Rental Housekeeping”

What company did you do vacation rental housekeeping for? We are always looking for vacation rentals with reasonable rates. My husband and I have a RV but do not tow it far in fact, it stays within 10 miles of our house in the summer on the Wynoochee River. My husband isn’t interested in pulling it very far any more. So I came up with the idea that vacation rentals in the fall and winter are perfect but I really don’t like paying all those extra charges tacked on by rental companies. We have found a nice little place in Florence that is rental by owner who lives in AZ. and it is only a block or so from the ocean and has a beautiful view of the ocean from the deck off the loft.
I had always wanted to be a camp host when we retired because I love being around people and love the outdoors, but I guess he had other plans. LOL So that means that I have spent more time inside than what I had planned too. I absolutely love the Tillicum Beach Park. We have stayed there in the past both in a tent and also in our trailer. That is the park that I wanted to be able to host because I have enjoyed it so much when we have stayed there. Oh well, now I just dream about it when I drive past the park.